Little Bear and Other Tales
by Cassidy-Rose Alexander
Summary: The story of Peeta and Katniss' first child, their marriage, and the little things that help you hold on after war.
1. Chapter 1

The sun rose, and I felt the warmth drench my face. I was usually awake before sunrise, anyway, completely giving up on trying to sleep after:

A) the nightmares had become too much

or

B) Katniss had kicked me in the shins/knees/manhood so much I d gone numb.

But last night brought the trouble to me, I guess. She seemed fine only moving about to accommodate for her stomach, where a little me-or-her was growing, and doing enough damage itself.

This baby wasn t an easy carry, and she didn t have to tell me to know. She was tired often, a little queasy all the time, and always talking to her belly, asking why there was so much fuss. Haymitch blamed it on our age; twenty-seven-year-olds in the glory days of District 12 usually were on their third or fourth child by now.

That statistic scared me. Mostly because I knew nothing about well real life. Sure, I knew how to take down a kid twice my size with a stick, but I d never seen a birth until one of the local strays had kittens. And that was last week. Real life and I didn t really seem to mesh, so to say. Adjusting after the Games was like trying to hammer in a screw you can do it, but not without some damage.

I rolled out of bed, trying to avoid stepping on the ginger fluff monster at the foot of the mattress. That cat had way more than the run-of-the-mill nine lives. The other day it ran face-first into the oven, doing not much but singing its whiskers and pretty well pissing itself off. The poor thing survived the revolution, the bombing, and its fair share of baking accidents.

Other than the towel pile, Buttercup the Indestructible found home sprawled out on Katniss round belly. She couldn t do much more than threaten to make a nice scarf out of him. She was too big to do much of anything, actually, and I found it adorable. They say pregnant women glow. Katniss didn t glow, but it was something odd and and far more beautiful in every way.

When I got to my domain, the kitchen, I took in a deep breath. I smelled burned crumbs, tangy frosting, coal shards, hot hearth home. Its where I belonged, where my greatest comfort lay. With every nightmare came a cake; with every anxiety attack, a loaf of bread.

I started warming scones I d made just the other day, frying some eggs that paired nicely. The bird with the orange sauce, my favorite, also made its way to the table. Breakfast wasn t a huge deal unless, of course, it was Sunday. Sundays were game days. When Katniss, sans-baby, would bring home a fresh feast. These days were the best in the week, although, I had to admit Being married to Katniss Everdeen made every day spectacular.

I heard the stairs creak slightly, and turned to see my wife, white-knuckle-gripping the railing. Her hair was sticking out of her braid like a haystack, her eyes still drifty and half asleep. I could have laughed, but not because it was funny. She looked so young and, dare I say, cute.

No morning sickness? I inquired, pulling her chair out for her.

Nope, she yawned, padfooting to her seat. She slid in carefully as not to get stuck.

The little bear seems to be hibernating.

Little bear? I asked, putting my hand on her tummy to say good morning. She must ve been so used to the little flutters that she didn t even bother to feel them anymore.

The thing is ferocious. she wanted to laugh. It was brimming in her eyes.

Then why not lion, or wolf? I cocked a brow.

With a pat on her tummy and a pause she looked up at me. Damn thing is big enough to be a bear.

We laughed, even though I could tell she was half-serious.

Please message me with feedback! I love it! 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1 continued.  
-The reason I'm losing some punctuation is because I can't get to word and have to use Notepad. I'll be fixing things ASAP!-

The food was so good we'd spent a few mintues eating instead of talking. It was a welcome silence, not awkward in the slightest. The best conversations I'd had with my wife had no words in them at all.  
"So, is /it/ going to have a name?" I asked, clearing my dishes.

"No, I think we'll it 'Hey, You!' for its whole life." Katniss smirked, making a tiny sandwhich out of her remaining breakfast. She ate...weird. Not freaky, like some pregnant ladies, but the combonations of stuff was just awful.  
Also, full sticks of butter rolled in sugar. She quite liked that.  
"You can't really name something until you see it." she shrugged.  
"Well, I don't like calling the baby 'it' all the time." I frowned.  
"We can name it Bear." she winked at me.

After five minutes or so of trying to stand, she gave up, just sitting back down. "It's getting close, I can feel it." she rubbed her belly in wide circles. I drew in a sharp breath. I could feel my stomach flopping over.  
"There are a few more weeks, right?" My palms grew clammy, my fingers tingling like I was facing a two-ton monster. I could be a father any day now. I could be a father tomorrow...

"I was thinking about a midwife." she toyed with the rim of her glass of water.  
"Someone we know."  
I gave this some thought.  
"Annie Cresta?"  
"Well...not quite."  
My mind was drawing blank. Could men be midwives? Haymitch maybe?  
And then it hit me. It hit me like an axe to a tree.  
"Oh...oh no.."

"She's going to show up today, so you better start liking the idea fast." Katniss shrugged, like this all was no big deal. I personally didn't mind Johanna Mason, But I knew that if she and regular Katniss bumped heads, than her and pregnant Katniss could be lethal.  
"What's this, now? Making big decisions without consulting eachother?" I sat with her, peering into her eyes. A cloudy grey that paints just couldn't capture. My abso-  
lute favorite color.

"Marrige?" she responded, too weak of a joke to illicit a laugh.  
"Plus, she did great with little Finn."  
As part of a vow to Finnick Odair, Johanna kept Annie safe. She helped birth Finnick, named for his father. Tributes stuck together, and kept promises.  
I guess until now, I didn't realize that included us, too.  
"The quicker this thing is out of me, the better." she grumbled. I pet stray hairs off of her face.  
Boy, was she sweaty recently.

"This was your idea, don't forget." she growled, pointing at her swollen stomach.  
"Sweetpea..." I kissed her head, trying to comfort her. She frowned, her toughness fleeting.  
"SWEETPEA," she mocked me, "Is going back to bed." she shoved me, slowly but shakily finding her feet.  
"and she expects cheese buns, too."

I kissed her softly with a nod. Orange sauce lingered on her lips.  
After she was safely tucked in bed, with my assistance, I started on bread for the day. The buns, of course, were top priority. They filled the kitchen with a mouth-watering scent, despite me just having eaten. Since food was a luxuryh I could recently afford, I'd gotten doughy. Pun intended.

When all the baking was done, and the displays were set, all I could do was wait for the bomb to drop... 


	3. Chapter 3

Her voice was loud, but not entirely unpleasent. It rang through the bakery, bouncing off nerves in my spine.  
There was still weak spots in my memories. Her voice triggered an electric shock through every single pore in my body.  
I gripped the counter, gritting my teeth.

"Where's the girl on fire?"  
Johanna dropped all of her bags at the door, walking to the window. She snatched a cupcake from the display, flipped the bakery sign to "closed" and pulled the curtain that severed it from my actual kitchen.  
"And when can I take my pants off?" she added.  
I shook my head, removing her frmo the counter.  
"Never? And give that back!" I reached for the sweet, which she promptly shoved whole into her mouth. I sighed.  
"Nevermind..."

She grinned, walking twards the livingroom, looking for Katniss. When she came up empty, she charged back over to me, grabbing my shirt by the collar.  
"Okay, Blondie. Promise me she's not upstairs."

I blanched.  
"W-what if she is?" She gave a very dramatic, very heavy, very Johanna sigh.  
"You're stupid." she shook her head. She pointed up the stairs.  
"Go. Now."

I had no choice, because, frankly, Johanna scared the hell out of me. So, up the stairs I went.  
I found Katniss not asleep, but singing. Just out the window. Every little note made my heart leap, my stomach quaver.  
"Beautiful," I remarked. I sat by her, running my nose along her face. She smiled, soft and close-mouthed.  
Moments like that, I fell in love completely again. Everything seemed so perfect. Normal.  
Scars of war blurred at the edges. I tucked a long, misplaced hair behind her ear, and scooped her up into my arms. I was careful on the stairs, each step earning her a kiss on the cheek.

"Ew." Johanna gace us a look of confusion and discust. I guess she just didn't understand kissing for romance. To her, years of kissing men and women of the Capitol with no emotion clouded over its niceness.  
She'd created a tiny hospital of sorts on the sofa, which pulled out to a bed that wasn't as big as the Master bed, but was surprizing in size.  
Everything was a mint green-from the sheets to pajamas, which Johanna took almost no time getting into.  
The color was no surprize. Every time I painted Johanna, the color came up. Calm, cool, but with a bite.

When my wife was settled, I sat quietly in an arm chair, trying to figure out my next move. I felt the room vibrating, but it was just me, bouncing my good leg out of nerves. "And now..." Johanna got out a deck of cards, cutting, shuffling and dealing them to the three of us.  
"We wait."  



End file.
